Improvement in suspender-springs



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE k. winGRrELD, OE BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, AssreNoR To HENRY HEATH, `onSAME PLACE. i i

IMPROVEMENr :N susPENDE'R-sPn-INGS.

Specification forming part ofLetters Patent No. 146,155, dated January6,1874; application filed November e4, 1873. y

To all 'whom it may concern: p

Beit known that I, GEORGE K. WINGFIELD, of Brooklyn, in the county ofKings and State of New York, have invented an Improved Suspeuder-Spring, of which the followin gis a speciiication:

This invention is designed chiefly to be used in the back ends ofsuspenders and braces, and is intended to furnish a spring at that pointwhich will yield to the tension which is thrown upon the suspender orbrace when the body is bent forward, and` thus relieve not only theSuspenders or braces, as the case may be, but also the buttons andpantaloons, from undue strain, while at the saine time the spring isdesigned to hve suicient elasticity to recover its position and hold thepantaloons in their proper place when this tension is removed.

My invention consists in the peculiar construction hereinafterdescribed, by which the spring and its connections are brought intopractical shape for use, and into small compass, and at the same timerendered capable of being made sufficiently strong and elastic, and ofsufhcient range of action, to answer the purpose required.

Figurel is a back-side view of my invention, with a piece of leather atthe upper end to attach it to a pair of Suspenders, and a ring at v the.lower end to connect it to the suspender ends, which are to be buttonedto the back buttons of the pantaloons, the body of the spring being inthis figure represented as covered with leather. Fig. 2 is a like viewof my invention without the vcoverin g and means of at tachinent abovementioned. Fig. 3 is a similar view with the back plate omitted, and thepart of the front plate of which the loop to receive the ring is formedbeing left straight to show more clearly the lower end of the upperdraft-plate. Fig. 4t is a back-side view of the front plate before theloop for the ring is formed, and of the spring. Fig. 5 is a verticaltransverse section, showing the parts (without the covering andattachments) put into place upon each other, but not fastened together,and the loop for the ring not being formed.

A is the front plate, which may be made of brass or any otherappropriate material, and which has an extended end, a, of which toforni the loop for the ring, as shown in Figs. l and.

per end with a loop, e, to receive the leather attachment C, and at thelower end is bent over into a ange at right angles to the main plate, asshown at g in Fig. 5, to catch the lower end of the spring f. Thisspring f is a` narrow fiat spring, bent into the form shown in Fig. 4. Iprefer that it should be made of i steel and properly tempered. Toprevent too great strain upon the spring f, a slot, extending only asfar as the flange g should be allowed to go, is cut through the plate A,as shown in Figs. 4. and 5, and a corresponding port-ion of the flangeextends through it "to form a stop forthe plate B, and prevent itscompressing the spring j' :more than it will` safely bear. D is the backplate, which is formed with notches to receive the projecting' portionsd d of the front plate, and is designed merely to keep the draft-plate Bin place, and` to hold the end of the loop a in position.

In putting the parts togetherafter they are made ready, the spring f isyplaced in position on the back side of the front plate, as shown inFig. 4, its upper `end bearing against the iian ge b; the draft-plate Bis then laid on, as

shown in Fig. 3, the flange at its lower end` being outside of thespring f, and the extended portion of the said iiange fitting into theslot in the front plate alreadymeutioned. The loop a. is then formed andthe ring E inserted, the' end of the loop a being turned down betweenthe lower projections d d and those next above, to secure it in position5 the outside or back plate D is then put on, and the projections d i dturned down to secure it in position, as shown in Fig. 2, when thedevice is complete with the exception of the covering and upper attachment C; and when these are supplied, it is ready to bev attached tothe suspenders in the usual manner.

It will be obvious from the foregoing description that the improvedsuspender-sprin g may be made very thin to adapt it to be Worn, and atthe same time can be manufactured at a moderate cost, and yet madesufficiently substantial, elastic, and durable to perform the servicefor which it isY designed.

The necessity of some elastic device capable of saving the back portionof the pantaloons and the back suspender-buttons from unf due strainwhen the body is bent forward, and at the same time keeping thepantaloons in their proper position,"ha's been long felt, and variousdevices have been essayed or adopted for that purpose, among which isthat of Weaving india-rubber into the web of the suspender to give itelasticity-an elasticity which is nearly lost after the suspender hasbeen Worn only a short time, and Which elasticity being distributedthrough the length of the Web necessarily involves a dragging of thesuspender over the underclothing on the rounded portions of the body asthe body is bent.

An attempt has also been made to secure elasticity by the introductionof spiral springs into Suspenders but these involve too great thicknessto be conveniently Worn, and are, besides, liable to get out of order.

By making the spring in a zigzag form, as described, and securing it inthe manner described, these difficulties are obviated, and a serviceablespring for Suspenders, giving elasticity at the proper place, is theresult.

I claim as my invention- Y l. The combination of the zigzag orserpentine spring f and the metal plates A and B, substantially ashereinbefore set forth.

2. The combination. of the zigzag or serpentine spring f and the platesA, B, and D, substantially as hereinbefore described.

3. The combination of the spring j', plates A B D, and ring E, the endof the loop a oi the plate A being secured between lugs cl d on theflanges c c, or in notches therein, substantially as hereinbefore setforth.

GEORGE K. VVINGFIELD.

Witnesses: y

HENRY HEATH, Trios. I. How.

